Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
The US-based Aerospace and Defence company Northrop Grumman has named its spacecraft named after Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian descent to go to space.
The company’s next space station resupply ship, which is a NG-14 Cygnus spacecraft has been named as ‘S.S. Kalpana Chawla’. The company has a tradition of naming each of its Cygnus ship after an individual achiever in Human spaceflight.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has released guidelines to states and Union Territories pertaining to welfare of migrant workers returning to destination States on account of COVID 19.
The States and UTs have been advised by the Ministry to conduct free corona virus (COVID-19) tests for migrant labourers. Also, the ministry has directed to maintain a database of all workers moving out of their States.

Notes:
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the performance of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) under EASE Banking Reforms Index 2.0. EASE stands for “Enhanced Access and Service Excellence”.
Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, and erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce were the top three in the list of “Top Performers”. Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India and erstwhile Corporation Bank were the leading banks in ‘Top Improvers’ category.

Notes:
Leading Private sector bank of India, ICICI Bank has launched an exclusive programme for start-ups named ‘iStartup2.0’.
Under this programme, a Current Account can be created for new businesses that are up to ten years old seamlessly. The Bank has integrated its APIs with the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and the account number is obtained at the time of incorporation.

Notes:
India and China have recently agreed on five points regarding the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
On the side lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Moscow, the External affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had strategic talks which focussed on Disengagement of troops and easing of tensions.

Notes:
The Results of the 2nd edition of “Ranking of States on Support to Start-up Ecosystems – 2019” was released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
The ranking exercise has been carried out by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The ranking frame work has 7 broad reform areas, consisting of 30 action points. In this ranking exercise, 22 States and 3 Union Territories participated.

Notes:
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has recently released the States’ Start-up Ranking Framework 2019.
As per the ranking, Gujarat has been named as the best performer among states and Andaman & Nicobar Islands has been named as the best performer in the category of Union Territory. Karnataka and Kerala emerged as the Top performers. The framework is based on 7 broad reform areas.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently inaugurated 1.75 lakh houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin in over 12000 villages in Madhya Pradesh.
The Prime Minister also released the ‘Griha Pravesham’ plaque to mark the occasion. The 1.75 lakh houses are a part of the total of 18 lakh houses constructed across the country under the scheme. The work has also been completed in 35 to 40 days, instead of the usual time of 125 days.

Notes:
Jammu & Kashmir has announced the commencement of a public grievance redressal system named JK i-grams.
It stands for Jammu and Kashmir integrated grievance redress and monitoring system. The system is started on a pilot basis in Srinagar, Jammu and in Reasi. By 2nd October, the state is expected to include all villages in the system.

Notes:
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Sameer Kumar Khare as new Executive Director of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The veteran bureaucrat has been appointed to the post for a tenure of three years. Sameer Kumar is a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He is currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs under Ministry of Finance.